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CAF Confederation Cup

AGAIN, RANGERS’ ENUGU CATHEDRAL IS DESECRATED!

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Nigeria’s Enugu Rangers have again crumbled miserably at home as they were battered 3-1 by visiting Egyptian side and continental debutants, Pyramid FC in the opening group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup.

It is the fourth time the team has lost at home this year after an earlier 2-0 loss to Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel in March as part of the 2018/19 Confederation Cup, a 0-1 loss to MFM and 1-2 to Rivers United in the Nigerian domestic league.

The chain of home losses have made the team very venerable on their home ground which they had earlier nicknamed “The Cathedral” after winning the Nigerian league 2016.

Alas! The Cathedral is desecrated. Prior to Sunday’s loss, Rangers have been experiencing a down town that necessitated the sack of Benedict Ugwu as the coach and the NFF seconding former national team coach, Salisu Yusuf on a redemption mission.

But there was no redemption for the team, which initially had a soul-lifting goal through Ibrahim Olawoyin in the 29th minute.

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Rangers carried the lead into half time, but could not sustain it. Mohamed Farouk put the visitors on level term from a 54th minute penalty kick. Amor Layouni put the Pyramids ahead in the 83rd minute before Islam Eissa scored again from the penalty spot, three minutes before regulation time.

Full time: Enugu Rangers 1-3 Pyramids FC
Scorers: Ibrahim Olawoyin 29/ Mohamed Farouk 54 pen, Amor Layouni
 83, Islam Eissa 87 pen

Yellow cards:
Temitope Olusesi (Enugu Rangers) 

Red Card:Temitope Olusesi 45 (Enugu Rangers)

Staring line-up:

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Pyramids FC: Ahmed El-Shennawi, Ragab Bakar, Abdallah Bakri, Ahmed Mansour (Amor Layouni 76), Ali Gabr, Omar Gaber, Mohamed Fathi (Islam Eissa 34), Nabil Donga, Eric Traore, Mohamed Farouk, John Antwi (Ibrahim Hassan 63)

Venue: Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium

Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djamal (Djibouti)

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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CAF Confederation Cup

‘Nzogbu Nzogbu’ Enyimba enyi as Enyimba limp into Confederation Cup Group stage!

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It was not easy, but the end justified the means. Enyimba had to go through the lottery of penalty shoot-out to get into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday in Uyo after playing a barren draw with visiting Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso.

 The first leg also ended goalless leading to penalty shoot-out as tie breaker. Enyimba won 3-2 on penalties.

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CAF Confederation Cup

CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba target victory after Solid Showing in Bamako

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Enyimba FC head coach Yemi Olarenwaju has set his sights on securing a crucial victory in Sunday’s second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup tie against Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou.

His confidence is built on the  goalless draw in the first leg in Bamako.

“The job is far from over, and we can’t afford to celebrate yet. The return leg in Uyo will be crucial,” Olarenwaju was quoted by the club’s website as saying.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board, work harder, and prepare for the challenge ahead.”

Olarenwaju praised his team’s tactical edge and discipline, which nullified the hosts’ attacking threats. “We had a clear game plan, and the players executed it perfectly. Our tactical discipline prevented Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from creating any meaningful scoring opportunities.”

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The Enyimba FC boss acknowledged the tough opposition but remains confident in his team’s ability to secure a win at home.

“Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou is a formidable opponent, but we have the quality and determination to get the job done in Uyo.”

As we look forward to the return leg, we urge all Enyimba FC fans to come out in their numbers and support the team at the Uyo Stadium. Let’s make our home advantage count and cheer the People’s Elephant to victory!

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CAF Confederation Cup

Enyimba’s midfielder, Daga confident of Confederation Cup group stage ticket

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Enyimba’s midfielder,  Daniel Daga, has pledged to lead club to victory against Etoile Filante in the return leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round on Sunday.

The People’s Elephant are looking to build on their impressive performance in the first leg, which ended in a goalless draw in Bamako, Mali. Despite creating several scoring opportunities, Enyimba were unable to find the back of the net.

However, Daga remains optimistic about their chances in the return leg having missed the first leg of the encounter due to a slight knock

“Our resolve is to win and advance to the group stages,” he stated confidently. “We understand that they are a difficult opponent, but we have just one task, which is to win, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”

A win for Enyimba FC would guarantee their spot in the group stages, a feat that would make them the only Nigerian team in the competition’s group phase.

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“We know the importance of this match, and we’re ready to give it our all,” Daga added. “We want to make Nigeria proud and show that we’re a force to be reckoned with in African football.”

Head coach, Yemi Olarenwaju, has been fine-tuning his tactics, and the team is eager to execute their game plan.

“The first leg result gives us an advantage, but we won’t take anything for granted,” Olarenwaju said. “We’ll push for victory and secure our spot in the group stages.”

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